Panagia tou Sinti is an abandoned monastery that functions as a chapel today. In 1997 ,due to its successful restoration, it received the EUROPA NOSTRA award.

The last record of monk presence at the monastery dates back to 1927.

Although it had been owned by the church in the past, it has been sold back to the surrounding villages in 1950

We set out on a Sunday morning to visit the monastery at about 10:00 from Limassol. After a couple of short stops and a fair amount of frustration with an outdated GPS system that has since been replaced, we had arrived by 11:30.

The road leading to Pentalia village is decent enough to carry prone-to-car-sickness individuals safely without any incident. Trust me.

While entering Pentalia village, there are some handy signs pointing the way towards the monastery...up to a point. Then you follow your gut. Fortunately all the dirt-roads lead to the same place - the monastery. We actually tested this by going back from a different route - just for fun, we weren't lost or anything.

Approaching the monastery, the sense of being in the middle of nowhere had settled in firmly.

Apart from a couple of farm fields and the dry banks of river Xeros (Ξερός) - meaning dry , there is little to be seen. The main feature of the area will always be the monastery

We parked and rested under the much appreciated shade of the trees at the entrance and had our packed lunch there too.

At the main courtyard we were greeted by the monastery's remaining inhabitants; pigeons and a couple of lizards.

The restoration is indeed incredible and the rest of the compartments which are left in ruins, such as the barns, rooms and stables add even more raw beauty to the site. Yet the effort to maintain the site is evident as it is clean, offers basic amenities and even has a small exhibit in one of the barns displaying the site's history.

Inside, the chapel is in full operating condition but I'm sure that the pigeons don't make it easy for the caretaker of the estate.

All in all, it was a wonderful excursion. Despite the dirt roads, the monastery is easily accessible and the serenity of the surroundings is worth the visit. The chapel and the premises are well maintained to accept visitors and we certainly hope that this standard is kept in the future

Here's the 3D rendering of the site

Σύντομα και στα Ελληνικά

Cyprus Aerial Photography Team

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